1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector structure, and more particularly, to an improved connector structure having a plurality of connectors.
2. Description of Related Art
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard is a well-known data transmission specification jointly established by IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC, Compaq, DEC, and Northern Telecom. Presently, USB is widely utilized to connect equipment with corresponding connectors, such as flash drives, portable hard drives, digital still and video cameras, mice, keyboards, scanners, printers, and so forth. The USB interface possesses a variety of advantages, such as fast data transmission speed, simple and quick connection, Plug-and-Play (PnP) compatibility, lack of an external power-supply, ability to simultaneously support a plurality of devices, excellent compatibility, and so forth, making USB a standard for connecting equipment to personal computers.
Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating the exterior of a general USB male connector 100, whereas FIG. 1B is a sectional diagram illustrating the structure of the USB male connector 100 depicted in FIG. 1A. As shown in the drawings, a USB male connector 100 used in the prior art typically includes an insulating sealed casing 110 connected at its front end to a hollow metal socket 120 for connecting to a corresponding USB female connector (as shown in FIGS. 2A–2C). The top and bottom surfaces of the hollow metal socket 120 are formed with a plurality of fastening openings 130 for securing the USB male connector 100 when the metal socket connects to the corresponding USB female connector, the hollow part of the metal socket 120 being internally formed with a plurality of conductive terminals 140 for data transmission that are fastened onto a terminal fastening base 150.
Referring to FIGS. 2A to 2C, FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating the exterior of a general USB female connector 200, FIG. 2B is a sectional diagram of the structure of the USB female connector 200 depicted in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2C illustrates the exterior of the rear end corresponding to the USB female connector 200 shown in FIG. 2A. As shown in the drawings, a USB female connector 200 as used in the prior art typically includes a casing having an inserting area 220, the top, bottom, right and left surfaces of the casing being formed with a plurality of fastening elastic slices 210, so as to tightly clip the metal socket 120 of the USB male connector 100 by fastening with the fastening openings 130 of the metal socket 120 as previously mentioned, thereby fastening the USB male connector 100 into the USB female connector 200. The inserting hole 220 is internally formed with a plurality of conductive terminals 230 so as to provide for data transmission with the rear end of each of the conductive terminals 230 extending rearward to form a soldering foot for soldering the USB female connector 200 onto a mounting area, such as a PC board.
FIG. 3 illustrates an application, wherein a first device 300, such as flash drive, is integrated with the USB male connector 100 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 4 illustrates an application, wherein a second device 400, such as a flash reader, is integrated with the USB female connector 200 shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C. FIG. 5 illustrates a portable wireless receiver 500 as disclosed in TW Publication No. 572263, the portable wireless receiver 500 having the USB male connector 100 formed at one end and the USB female connector 200 formed at the other end of the portable wireless receiver 500, thereby enabling the portable wireless receiver 500 to both connect with a data processing device such as a computer system and other external equipment when required.
However, the foregoing portable wireless receiver 500 still has structural deficiencies. Firstly, the USB male connector 100 and the USB female connector 200 respectively installed on the front and back end of the portable wireless receiver 500 undesirably increase the length of the device, thus limiting its portability. Secondly, there is limited expandability of the portable wireless receiver 500 since the USB male connector 100 and the USB female connector 200 being installed thereon can, at most, connect to two external devices, thereby making the design unable to concurrently connect with a plurality of external devices. Thirdly, the design suggests that a protective cover or cap be put on the USB male connector 100 when not in use, but this undesirably increases the overall device length if applied, whereas omitting the protective cover could result in accidental damage occurring from an external force. Fourthly, the portable wireless receiver 500 cannot control the status of electrical connection of the USB male connector 100 and the USB female connector 200, thus the portable wireless receiver 500 cannot disconnect the device in situations where either one of the USB male connector 100 or the USB female connector 200 needs to be electrically disconnected. Fifthly, the portable wireless receiver 500 lacks a mechanism that can prevent wrong insertion, an example being in a situation where a user wishes to connect the USB male connector 100 to a data processing device but not the USB female connector 200 to any other device, wherein the portable wireless receiver 500 cannot enforce such connectivity limitations. Sixthly, the portable wireless receiver 500 cannot freely adjust the connection angle of the USB male connector 100 with respect to an external device, thereby making the design inflexible in terms of practical use.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved connector structure that has a plurality of connectors, a reduced overall length, a more compact size to conserve storage space, automated switch on/off functionality of the conductive connectors, ability to be adjusted to various angles as desired, and ability to prevent incorrect insertion or connectivity, whether intentional or unintentional.